Poagie time....

jpaps711 · #1 06-25-2007, 05:05 PM

I've heard great things about catching monster bass with poagies but have had no luck while trying to liveline them the past couple of seasons. The big thing I think might be causing some of the problem is that I have been taking them away from the schools to use in the rocks. Is fishing them below the schools more effective? Anyone have any advice on how to use them more effectively or should I stick to what tends to work well for me and go with some eels?

Any tips would be much appreciated!

jimi4290 · #2 06-25-2007, 05:25 PM

it make sense to me..i have never done this though, so im not answering from experience...that the big bass..if feeding on pogies will be under or really close to the school of em...why would they hang out where there is no food...i suspect they are watching the school of pogies looking for the wounded one in the bunch..the easy meal is what the big bass want....we just gotta give it to em.

jkfirefighter · #3 06-25-2007, 05:33 PM

Fish them where you normally would fish other bait for big bass...If you're not catching them, try a new spot....big bass will eat them if they're nearby.

jpaps711 · #4 06-25-2007, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkfirefighter

Fish them where you normally would fish other bait for big bass...If you're not catching them, try a new spot....big bass will eat them if they're nearby.

Thanks guys...goin out for a little twilight fishing, hopefully my luck with poagies will turn, it must take a big bass to eat bait that big. Actually that might be part of the problem, I'm at the point where I can find the schoolies and small keepers regularly; the big ones - not so much...

jkfirefighter · #5 06-25-2007, 08:23 PM

well that's the thing, big bass are not that easy to find....lots of people search their entire fishing careers without any such luck....but then there are those who catch big bass every outing. It's just something you just have to keep trying at in the areas that you fish, always be open to something new, and new spots.

Roccus · #6 06-26-2007, 10:34 AM

Pogies, Mossbunker, menhaden or just plain bunker are a summer time staple of big bass.... and yes, the big bass will follow the school.... at times..... the easy way to find out... snag one and live line it with the school, any big bass in the area will cut out the "cripple" in a heart beat....

as far as fishing in rocks with pogies.... the original latin name for striped bass was "Roccus Saxatillis" the Roccus part meaning rocks... you figure it out....

and as JK Firefighter said anywhere you normaly fish for bass... you can fish a pogie.

Lastly.... a 10lb bass has no problem swallowing even a large bunker..... 30, 40 and 50 lb bass inhale, burp and look for another.....

Here's a tip for ya, bass some times will pound the crap out of a live pogie, but not eat it, so , I keep a rod rigged with a dead whole, weighted pogie, when I have a bunker beater, I toss that dead one in the direction of the abuser and let it flutter in the current.... more oten than not, it's more than the abuser can resist.... it works with mackerel too!

jpaps711 · #7 06-26-2007, 10:43 AM

So I got out on the water with my buddy right around sunset. We were able to hook into the poagies pretty good before the sun went down, but had no luck with the stripers. After dark we drifted the bait and were able to land a couple of decent fish. I geuss these poagies aren't so bad after all.

Just a couple of questions for anyone who wants to share an opinion. Our usual poagie set up is mono to a drail weight with a couple feet of leader attached to a double snap swivel through the baits nose and an exposed hook. Due to problems with one of our rods we switched to a rod with a lead core setup and due to our recent lack of success and a little brainstorming session we lost the swivel in the nose and hooked the poagie behind the dorsal. Both fish were taken on the rod with lead core...any thoughts on this or the proper hook setup? How would you set up an ideal poagie rig?

Anyway here are a couple of pictures we snapped of him and the fish...

Roccus · #8 06-26-2007, 11:07 AM

The simpler the rig the better....

I sometimes will troll them on lead core, usually I rig them on a two hook slider rig, the front hook slides to accommodate the difference in bait size, these are then live lined on a sliding balloon rig....

for hooks I use 7,8 or 9/0 circles, it all depends on the size of the bait....